Steelers QB Mason Rudolph appears to take shot at Ben Roethlisberger

The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7) named QB Mason Rudolph their starter once again after his impressive 290-yard and two-touchdown performance in Week 16. Now with a little extra confidence, it seems he took a slight shot at his former teammate, Ben Roethlisberger.

"No matter who's been playing, there's been great communication. Everyone is truly trying to make the other person better," Rudolph told reporters. "There's been other times when it's been not as cohesive as a group and people aren't as forthcoming with 'Hey, how do we help?'"

Rudolph seems to be talking about Roethlisberger, who clearly wasn't happy after Pittsburgh selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

"I was surprised they took a quarterback because I thought maybe in the third round you can get some really good players that can help this team win now," Roethlisberger said following the draft. "If they feel like he can help our team, so be it but I was a little surprised."

Rudolph and Roethlisberger went onto share a locker room for four years (2018-21) before Big Ben hung up his cleats following the 2021 season.

It was Roethlisberger's team up until he retired, but Rudolph did play in 10 games (starting eight) for the Steelers in 2019 after Roethlisberger underwent season-ending elbow surgery. The Oklahoma State product threw for 1,765 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions on his way to a 5-3 record.

Since then, many in Pittsburgh believed he wouldn't amount to anything more than just a backup. But even if their history is a little rocky, Roethlisberger praised Rudolph's latest performance and believes he's earned another opportunity to start.

"I thought that he did a great job of spreading the ball around, I thought he made good decisions," Roethlisberger said on his "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger" podcast. "Even when he threw it away it was good."

Only Rudolph knows if he was talking about Roethlisberger, but one thing is for sure: He can continue writing off his doubters with another strong showing against the Seahawks (8-7) on Sunday.